Born in 1976, Azwan is a former senator in Malaysia's Upper House of Parliament. He holds a Master's Degree in Management from Open University Malaysia and attended the leadership course at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Massachussetts. He obtained an Accounting degree from Cardiff University of Wales in 1999 and was previously in Ernst & Young Malaysia as auditor and corporate recovery consultant. Azwan was the Deputy National Youth Leader for UMNO and BN. He founded a global inclusive youth forum in 2016 namely KL International Youth Discourse, with support from the Prime Minister's Office. Presently, Azwan manages his own KL-based consulting outfit Progredior Consulting, serving his corporate clients in policy research, strategic communication, stakeholder advocacy and political risk assessment. He strongly believes in regional engagement and empowerment of the youth to eradicate extremism, and promotes bipartisan policy dialogue for sustainable development and climate reality. He also speaks actively on democracy and progressive nationalism.